Innocent Intentions: Part 1
by greenmaiden
Summary: the wicked witch is about to be punished for her wicked deeds by loosing her true love. In a desperate attempt to save him she begs for death to hear her side of the story in her deeds because really she had perfectly innocent
1. Chapter 1

Innocent Intentions

**Disclaimer: contrary to popular belief I do not own a single fairy tale (consider yourself disclaimed!)**

The howl of a nearby wolf signaled the fall of darkness for the so called wicked witch sitting in the cabin. This however went unnoticed for her every thought was being used up in her current situation. This was in no way unreasonable seeing as this situation of which I speak of was watching her one true love die. You may think it's a little funny that a wicked witch should have a one true love but if you believe in all that then you should also believe that everyone in fact has a true love and therefore why shouldn't a witch have one? Anyways, had this witch heard the wolf howling outside perhaps what happened next wouldn't have come as quite a surprise…

There was a loud knock on the door and the witch was forced to thick of something beside the dying man in front of her. "Who could be calling at this hour?" she wondered. The n her eyes caught the window outside and a small gasp caught in her throat.

"No…" she whispered desperately starring at the man again. Another howl of the wolf outside confirmed her worst nightmare. A knock came again and this time a little bit harder and more urgent. "Come in." the witch called trying to hide her reluctance, for in fact the last thing she wanted was for her guest to come in-but you see if there is one thing you never want to do it's refuse Death something-especially if you're planning on saving someone's life. The door creaked open and walked ( or more or less glided) Death.

He looked very much the way you would expect death to look (if you've ever thought about it of coarse): basically a long baggy black cloak which covered his entire and gave him the effect of being faceless. He was tall and his entry caused the fire in the fireplace to go out and a chill to spread throughout the room.

The witch shuddered.

" Good evening Mr. Death. This is a surprise. Would you like some cold tea or cookies?"

" No." Death moaned collapsing into a chair. "No time, I have eight more stops before the night is up-nice try though." The witch felt a chill run up her back. "I best just get straight to business."

"WAIT!" The witch screamed launching herself on top of the man's feverish body.

"Wait for what? He's dying and you know it."

" But why is he dying?" the witch screamed " This is not the first time I've watched you at work you know. And I've done some research. I know how death works: there is always a reason for someone to die! What's his?" Death seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then said, exasperated:

"I don't need to tell you that!" and began advancing again.

" IT'S BECAUSE OF ME ISN'T IT!" the witch screamed desperately. Death stopped again.

"Yes it is. What of it?"

"I've done nothing wrong!...Or perhaps…nothing wrong enough to deserve this!" Death sighed and pulled out of his robes a small portfolio.

"I have here documented" he said rummaging through it "several witness accounts proving your guilt of the following:" He paused here to loudly clear his throat. "Turning a Prince Gilbert of Phell into a frog, turning the Duke Selendrile Jaques into a beast, eating children, kidnapping a baby from a Mr. and Mrs. Legume of Delvern, turning a unknown man into a wolf, cursing a baby princess to her death, enchanting a goose and well…just generally creating fear and suspision in every village you've ever inhabited." Death finished, folding the paper and placing it back in his cloak. "Now step aside." And he began to advance again.

The witch stood in shock but only for a moment. Then she snapped back to herself again and disgust and anger overtook her.

"Death! You are supposed to be watching everyone constantly and viewing such events with your own eyes! Not using the testimony of people!" Death starred at her for a moment. Then asked:

"How did you know?"

"Because if you had been watching you would have known that everything you just accused me of doing was either completely untrue or done with perfectly innocent intentions!" Death collapsed back into his chair defeatedly.

"I can sense a lie and what you just said was not one." He pulled out a piece of paper and pen. " If you can tell of these events in your own words, justify all your actions, and I sense no lie he can live."

"What shall I start with?" the witch tentively asked.

"Start with…your transforming that man into a frog."

The witch nodded and began her tale…


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Peasant's Wise Daughter , or The Frog Prince (even if I do find frogs very attractive)**

"About ten years ago I had just mastered the art of transformation so I had decided to try it out-on myself of coarse! You see at the time I was living in the Kingdom of Phell and as you are probably already aware the rules there are quite strict concerning witches. Basically I'm not allowed within ten miles of any town in that kingdom at the risk of being burnt at the stake. Naturally I upheld that rule. However, that summer had been a particulary hot one and so I had spent much of my time outdoors watering my herbs. Ironically, the herb you need to cure a sunburn does not grow very well in the sun. So when my entire stock of it died and I could no longer stand the discomfort of the burns I decided to test my transformation powers by transforming myself into an average looking peasant and going to the market to by some.

It was there that I first saw the prince Gilbert. There was this loud trumpet call and everyone moved aside to make way for the royal carriage. I gathered from the general murmurs of the people around me that one: the Prince came to visit the market much less then he was expected to and two: his arrival was something everyone dreaded. The market went silent as the prince very slowly stepped out of his carriage. A young boy who can't have been more than eight was holding out a piece of red velvet and making sure that the Prince always was stepping on it and not on the muddy ground.

Once he began to move everyone went back as if nothing had happened though the cheerful atmosphere of the place had been replaced by an anxious one.

I was about to continue my search for the herb when I saw a very old man approach the Prince. The clothing on his back was covered in mud and he had a slight limp while walking. Every aspect of this man seemed to scream out for help-until I saw his eyes. They were bright blue and had a look to them as if they loved to laugh. They also seemed to have a stubbornness to them which was probably how he made it to such an old age.

"Begging your pardon your majesty" the man croaked out. He bowed deeply to the man but the prince seemed already displeased.

"What do you want old man?" The Prince's brow was wrinkled in disgust.

"This morning myself and my daughter were preparing some of the land we just recently bought from you for planting and we found this." The old man reached into his shirt and pulled out a golden mortar. "It is too fancy for the use of my daughter and me but we thought we could give it to you, perhaps as a gift for the land we now work."

When the old man took out the gold the prince's eyes had lit up hungrly and when the man stopped talking he snatched it from him.

"Where's the pestle?" The Prince asked quietly.

"Pardon me, my Prince?" the old man asked nervously.

"The pestle old man! I am no fool! No one simply owns a mortar! They own a mortar and a pestle!" The prince was shaking in fury

"My Lord, we found no pestle. Only this mortar though perhaps we will find one, if we dig further down." The old man looked near tears but the prince seemed only more angry.

"You fool! Coming here and thinking you can trick your way out of giving me my whole gift! You will not plant a single thing- not until I have my pestle. Your daughter will search for it and when she finds it she will bring and to me and perhaps I will consider your release."

"M-m-my release, s-s-sir?"

"Yes your release! You will be imprissioned in my dungeons until I have my pestle." The prince snapped his fingers. "GUARDS! Give this disgusting old man a cell…since I'm feeling generous, one in which food is delievered to it."

And with that they dragged the old man away. Well, although I have this reputation of being a wicked witch I simply cannot stand a truly wicked person. After asking around about this prince I found that this was actually a good day for the prince for usually he would have had the man hanged. I realized that one day this man would be king and god knows what would happen then. He had to be stopped! And, in the spirit of my practicing transformations I turned the man into the first thing that came to mind: a frog. Now naturally this transformation caused quite a bit of panic so I quickly pulled an invisiability spell over both me and the frog and carried him out of there.

To be honest my plan had not gone passed leaving the market safely so once I found myself safe I was really at quite a loss. I decided the most logical thing to do was drop him off at the nearest pond (him being a frog and all), though when I reached the pond I was suddenly overcome with sympathy for this frog prince. I decided that though he could not go back to being a human now perhaps he could if I could somehow use this curse to improve his character. You see it is my belief that everyone has potencial to be a good person and I was determined to bring the good person inside of him out-not for just my own good but the good of the entire kingdom.

After a moment an idea struck me. I quickly changed the charm that was on him into a spell. It meant two things: one that this spell would be permanent for all time and two: the only thing that could break the spell was the kiss of his true love. Realising how hard this would be as a frog I gave him also the ability to speak but he could not reveal the spell or his true identity.

I kept a careful watch on the frog and as you have no doubt heard this worked and in winning the kiss of his true love and returning to his original state he has brought many great things to his kingdom and all the people therein." The witch smiled in rememberance.

Death sighed in annoyance."That will not do witch. Though your reasoning for using the spell was quite justifiable you didn't really do any good."

The witch gaped at him. "What do you mean! Have you not heard of all the great deeds of the Prince Gilbert!"

"I have." Said Death testily. "But simply hearing, as you have just proven is not enough. I know I have said your reasoning for this crime justifiable but your reasoning seems still a little muddled to me…I will be generous and say your explanation makes your deed quite neutral but to save him" (here he nodded toward the dying man sprawled out on the couch) "you must prove to me that this deed was good."

" Shall I tell you then, of all the kind things the Prince has done?" the witch asked anxiously.

"What he has done is of no importance only what you have…I suppose if you were to tell me how this spell actually changed him I would deem it a good deed."

The witch gave a relieved sigh. "And that is exactly what I shall do…"

**Author's Note: well that's chapter two. I'm not quite as happy with it as I was with chapter one but oh well. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! There's no way I would have come up with this chapter so fast without you guys! I would really appreciate some feedback (whether good or bad) so don't be shy! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Peasant's Wise Daughter or the Frog Prince.**

You can not possibly understand the full meaning of frustration until you have been turned into a frog. This applies especially if you are a spoiled prince who has never once experienced things turning out any way but the way you wanted.

This situation happened to be just the one that the Prince Gilbert found himself in. Once the witch had left him he did what any prince would have done: he threw a tantrum. If you have ever witnessed someone throwing a tantrum you'll know it's not a pretty sight to behold-especially if that person is a frog.

The prince's wart covered face turned bright red. His mouth was opened as wide as a frog's mouth can physically open and the series of croaks that emerged from it were the most broken dreadfull croaks anyone will ever hear. The frog's body flailed in pure unadulterated anger and frustration. It is reasonable to guess the entire pond heard it- if not the entire forest.

It is for this reason that the prince did not hear the approach of a young woman.

The young woman in question was none other then the daughter of the old man the prince had just a few hours ago sent to jail. Her name was Rose or Rosie as everyone called her and there was not a more kind-hearted woman in all the kingdom. She had crease marks on either side of her mouth as if she smiled a lot and kind, loving eyes that could sooth the most frightened child or angry man. She was a hard working, woman who never gave up once her mind was set to something. She was not however, beautiful. She was simply plain. She held no charms in her dark messy hair or pencil straight form. However she was somehow beautiful to look at as all people who are truly good inside and out are.

Today, however, no smile would come to her lips. She was almost unrecognizable from the girl her father knew and loved. Today every bit of her from the inside out was in pain. For she knew of what had happened to her father and not only did she doubt she would find the pestle but she knew that with this delay there would be no time to plant and therefore no harvest to make it through the winter. And for this she wept.

It is odd how when a person is sad they become so lost in their own world and problems that they hardly notice anything else. Rosie was almost on top of the frog prince before she noticed the horrible croaking sounds which had frightened the rest of the woods.

"You poor thing!" she whispered as she beheld the red-faced frog below her. "And all I can think about are my problems." She thought reproachfully to herself, though she could not help but wonder what would make a frog so upset…she did not have long to wonder.

"Pick me up THIS INSTANT so I can see your face." Rosie jumped back in alarm. Surely she was imagining things. There was simply no way that frog could have just commanded her to pick it up. "Are you deaf woman? I said pick me up-NOW!" Moving as if in a dream Rosie bent down and put the frog in her hands. The frog stared angerly into her eyes, but as he did so he could not help but be momentarily taken aback. I have already described the gentlness and kindness of those eyes. They were something for anyone to behold. But for a prince who had never once in his life experienced anyone looking at him with compassion or kindness this quite literally took his breath away.

For a moment the prince and Rosie simply stared at eachother not knowing what to say. Finally the Prince broke eye contact and said in a voice that he simply could not make sound angry:

"Who are you?" Rosie suddenly remembered herself.

"Oh I'm sorry how rude of me! My name is Rose- but you can call me Rosie." She did her best to smile at him but with her name came the rememberence of all her problems and it was enough effort not to sob. She took a deep breath and politely asked "And who do I have the honour of meeting?" It took the prince a moment to realize she was talking to him because no one had ever not known who he was.

"I am the p-p-pr" and that was as far as he could get before the spell kicked in and all he could do was choke until he stopped trying. When he noticed this he gave a great groan. "Must have been part of the s-s-sp-s-." Followed by more choking. Rosie however had heard enough to realize what was going on.

"You're under a spell aren't you? That's why you can talk! You're really a person! And I'll bet part of the spell is you can't reveal your identity or talk about the spell!" She frowned sympathetically at him.

"You seem to know a lot about witch craft…you're not one yourself are you!" Rosie's whole face seemed to harden as she was forced to remember a certain night not so long ago when someone had accused her of the same thing.

"That's a terrible thing to say." She whispered. Then- with the frog still in her hand -she began to walk home.

Had the prince known Rosie and had he been not a Prince he would have instantly realized that Rosie was treating him to the silent treatment. Rosie had been very hurt by his comment for even though he had been almost nothing but terrible to her in the short time she knew him she couldn't help but like him simply because her heart was too big for her not to. Not to mention that in Phell the worst insult you could possibly say to any women was that they were a witch.

The Prince however was totally clueless to all this because being the short tempered prince that he was no one had ever dared use the silent treatment on him. He had also never been called on to say sorry before. When he was young he had been told all about when to use sorry but at the time he had thought it very foolish and had dismissed it from his mind entirely. He could never imagine that grown adults use this word very often in all seriousness. It was because of this that he never once dreamed of saying it to her on the way home. He had thought nothing of her: _"what a terrible thing to say" _or the hurt look sketched across her face-which was one he saw all too often for him to take notice. He was at first puzzled and then angered by her complete ignorance of not only his presence but also of everything he said. When you're raised under the impression that anything you say goes, the silent treatment is not one you can easily deal with. By the time they had reached her house the frog was throwing another tantrum even bigger then the last.

Rosie angerly walked into her house and roughly placed the frog in a small wooden box which he barely could fit in and slammed the lid on. Then she ran outside and completely broke down. Her sobbing continued all through the night.

**Author's Note: Once again I find myself thanking all the wonderful people who reviewed! Thanks so much! I could not have done this so quickly without your support! **

**So I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you did let me know! If you didn't let me know! I will update soon!**

**Bye Bye for now!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the frog prince or the peasant's wise daughter.**

The Prince did not sleep at all that night. At first he continued his tantrum now screaming about being hungry and the fact that he was in the dark and his leg hurt. He screamed until he had completely covered every problem that had ever crossed his mind. This left him exhausted-too exhausted in fact, to continue being angry with anything at all. He was about to sleep when he heard the sobs of Rosie outside. She too had been crying her heart out but not just over his comment. She had been crying for her father and all the problems that the horrible prince had placed upon the two of them. The prince listened to her and suddenly it occurred to him that he was not the only one with problems. For the first time he was aware that other people sometimes had problems too.

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When the morning came an exhausted Rosie lifted the lid of the wooden box and lifted out a very disgruntled frog. She surveyed him critically. The spark of determination in her eyes was at its strongest and though Gilbert found this nerve-racking it also made him somehow feel better-like things were being taken care of.

After many hours of crying Rosie had finally straightened herself out. She would find that pestle if it killed her and have her father released within the week. Then the two of them would plant the fastest growing plant they knew of. It was simple really. The only question in her mind was the fate of this frog.

"Well," she said reprovingly, "you are one stubborn frog." The prince blinked at her innocently. "I don't think I've ever had to use the silent treatment on someone for so long without them apologizing. Don't think this means I've forgiven you but I simply can't afford to keep ignoring you all day- there's work to be done." The frog stared at her in surprise. He had never in his sheltered life encountered anyone so straight to the point. "So Mr. Frog…are you going to apologize to me or aren't you?" It took the prince several moments to realize that what she wanted was for him to say he was sorry.

"I'm not." He said confidently without a bit of remorse. "I do not make apologies. Apologies are for small children who are sentimental and weak. Besides _you_ ought to be apologizing to me too. You ought to be groveling at my feet! You, firstly ignored me, then you took me to this wretched old excuse for a shack, trapped me in a box and then had the nerve to wake me up at this ridiculous hour to ask for an apology! My answer to you is not a chance!"

The prince's words had cut her deep but she was not going to give in to insults like that again.

"Alright! Listen frog! I could have left you in the middle of that pond back there but I didn't! I brought you back to my home and tried to comfort you! You had the nerve of seriously insulting your rescuer! Alright frog- here's how it's gonna be: I have a lot of work to do and I don't have time for you bothering me. I also don't really have time to feed you- or might I add the resources. So here are your options: you can apologize to me and I will use any time I have to help you, or you can continue to be stubborn and I won't feed you -at all!"

The frog stared at her incredulously. No one had ever talked to him that way before. However during his tantrums of yesterday he had realized that he could no longer snap his fingers and have servants appear to fix his problems. He wasn't happy about it but he would have to live this one out.

"Fine then maid! I don't need food! I can live without it." Now it was Rosie's turn to stare.

"Fine frog!" she spluttered. "Clearly you have never gone without food before but let me tell you it is not a pleasant thing."

The prince only shrugged. "Perhaps for a commoner like yourself-maid." It was a great puzzlement to Rosie as to why the frog was calling her maid but as a prince, the only females he had encountered before were all maids and so in his mind it only seemed right.

So it began. The frog's fasting and Rosie's search for the pestle. The prince hated to admit it but the work he watched the girl do was more intense and difficult then all the work he had ever done put together. There was a time when the prince had felt sorry for himself because of all the studying he had to do. That time was over. He watched in amazement as the GIRL dug up the land stopping only once when the sun had reached its highest point in the sky for a snack of the most repulsive food he had ever seen (something we all know as oatmeal.). Though the food he had seen her eating was repulsive and the water she drank was brown with mud he had to admit he was starting to feel hungry. A pang in his stomach which the well fed prince had never felt before began early in the morning and had been worsening all day. At first he hadn't even thought of connecting it with the lack of food because he had never felt hungry before in his life. However eventually he began to under stand just what it would be like to go without food and what it would be like to starve. He remembered hearing that many of the peasants of the kingdom of Phell were dying of starvation. He had laughed it off at the time as weak peasants being over dramatic but now he understood its full meaning. He realized at that moment exactly what starvation meant. He felt a chill wash over him as remembered the girl saying this morning she hadn't really the resources to feed him. What did that mean? That she was in danger of starving too? It had never occurred to him before now that food could run out.

Now began a deadly battle of fear and pride. He was scared of starving but at the same time too proud to say such a silly thing as sorry. In the end pride won and the prince simply continued to starve.

And so it went on. For a whole week the prince ate nothing and Rosie worked harder then she had in her whole life to find the pestle. Along the way it is needless to say the two got to know eachother and Rosie simply could not stop herself from liking him. The Prince who had never really had a friend or someone he considered an equal to talk to was extremely confused in how he felt for her. All he knew was that she was somehow more significant then all the faceless servants he saw around the castle and that the thought of her starving to death chilled him to the bone-more in fact then the thought of _him_ starving to death.

The hunger strike however was not going exactly as planned. Everyday the frog awoke to the feeling that his stomach had been trampled on by a horse and every time he looked at his stomach he half expected to see a big black hole. He was also getting weaker and weaker. At the beginning when he awoke he would hop outside to talk to Rosie as she did her work. Now he found he hardly had the strength to wake up.

Rosie on the other hand had quite forgotten about this not eating for her every thought was wrapped up in finding the pestle. Everyday she grew more and more desperate. She did however, notice when the prince stopped coming to see her. It made her feel sad. Much more then she expected. She had been enjoying his company and his voice had the strange effect of making her feel extremely calm and relaxed. Needless to say as the week ended and he stopped visiting, she completely fell apart. Thinking that the reason for his stopped visits were over something silly again Rosie decided she best have a talk with that prince and give him a piece of her mind.

When she entered her hut, however the sight she saw erased all annoyance from her mind. The frog in question had not got up today. He was lying in bed (or in the wooden box that had become his bed) barely breathing. He had lost almost all colour and had turned a sort of pale-whitish green. He was not the plump frog she had first picked up a week ago. This frog was skinny- so much so she wondered if his legs could support the rest of his body without snapping. As she entered the frog opened one eye and gazed at the wavering image of her. A small soft croak came out of his mouth and then everything went black.

**Author's Note: Ok I'm thinking only one or two more chapters to wrap this sub-story up. Thanks again to all my reviewers! You guys all deserve a virtual cookie! **

**To Bingo5 (a new reviewer) who asked what the witche's name was I will reply using the wise words of another certain witch: "All in good time my pretty, all in good time."**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: seeing as I don't believe in slavery I do not own the Peasant's Wise Daughter or the Frog Prince.**

_A young woman of about eighteen sat in the pale moonlight, an expression of desperation etched across her face as she stared out the window. She had been sitting just like this for several hours-she was not used to being the helpless maiden. She was usually the one out there getting things done. That's just the kind of person she was and this waiting was tearing her apart. _

_A cloud moved, covering up the moon and she could not help but relax (a little) now that one of her worst fears was hidden. This slight relaxation was enough of an opening for her body to use to get some much needed sleep and the woman fell, helplessly onto the ground as sleep over took her._

_An hour or so later the call of a rooster awoke her and reminded all the residents of this woods that the danger was over. The woman lifted herself off the floor walked to the window. Had she not known exactly what to look for she would have missed the slight flicker of movement from a tree near the mansion. A sigh of relief left her lips and she hurried down the steps with new found energy._

_The man (for it was a man she had seen) wearily opened the door and entered the mansion only to find himself slammed against it and tearfully embraced by the woman._

_"Oh thank god." She whispered into his chest. "Charles I was so worried."_

_Charles wrapped his arms around her into a deep embrace and allowed a slight smile to come to his lips._

_"See I told you I'd come back-and I haven't let you down yet…and don't worry…I didn't…errr…meet anyone in the woods so all is well." He kissed the top of her head and continued to embrace her with the utmost tenderness. _

_The woman felt herself give in hopelessly to his embrace. She felt her eyes drooping. All this worrying had tired her out. It was ironic, really. That the most dangerous man in the forest if not in all the kingdom, could make her feel safer then anything else in the world._

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Death glared at the witch's dazed expression. When you are something important like death you are not used to having to wait for people. This witch was really getting on his nerves. One moment she was talking and the next she was staring into space a dreamy expression on her face.

"WITCH!" Death shouted, not able to contain himself anymore.

The witch jumped and then looked around. On seeing Death a flash of understanding came into her eyes.

"I'm sorry Mr. Death." she said slowly. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting. I was just…thinking…yeah…thinking." Death rolled his eyes.

"Just get on with it woman!"

"Alright, alright, relax…now where was I?" Death gave a loud groan and glared at her from the other side of the room. "Oh that's right!" the witch cried nervously. Then she cleared her throat and continued…

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It was pitch black in that hall and even more black (if possible) in the cell. The old man sat with his arms wrapped around his legs and his face buried in his knees. If you were to sit outside the door and listen very carefully you would be able to just make out between the sobs the repeating of the same phrase over and over again.

"What's he saying?" the King asked the guard irritably.

"If only I had listened to my wise daughter." And like an echo they both heard:

"…to my wise daughter."

"His wise daughter?" the King said thoughtfully. "Now why did Gilbert send him here again?"

"He gave him a mortar sire."

"WHAT!"

"Well the Prince thought that he was holding back a pestle from him so he put him here and I believe also sentenced the peasant's daughter to dig their land until they find it and only then will he be released." The King moaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"Bring this peasant forth, I wish to speak to him."

"Yes sire."

"How the guards around here find the cells is quite beyond me" the King thought to himself as he heard the sounds of the cell door being opened and the peasant being brought out.

The peasant bowed deeply to his King.

"Your Majesty." …Well at least they were fairly sure he bowed deeply.

"Now peasant, are you aware that the Prince is missing?"

"No sire." The surprise in the peasant's voice was unmistakable.

"Well he is. He disappeared almost seconds after your arrest…in fact it is quite likely he disappeared while you were being dragged away."

"What do you mean sire?"

"Well when I say disappeared I don't mean we couldn't find him, I mean he disappeared right under our noses as we watched."

"Ah sire you mean it was witchcraft?"

"Yes…or WIZARDCRAFT." The King pointed accusingly at the old man-not that anyone could tell.

"Sire," the guard said unable to stop himself. "there is no such thing as wizardcr-"

"Silence!" said the King who hated to be corrected. "Now peasant, I want you to be very, very, honest with me…are you or are you not a witch!"

"No sire." Said the peasant nervously. "They can't be males…can they?"

"No…" said the King regretfully. "Well then what's all this about your daughter?"

"My daughter is no witch sire! Honest! She was accused once of being one but she proved herself to as non-magical as you sire!" The King stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

"Hmmm…well I suppose for the time being I'll take your word for it…"

"Thank you sire!"

"I think however, I ought to have a word with this wise daughter of yours and see if she can't figure out this mystery…yes…and if she does find out I will not only release you but also give her one thing of her choice from the palace." Then he turned and said quietly to the guard "take this man to a cell that has sunlight coming in and serves three meals a day or a fear all we'll have to release from the prison is a pile of bones."

"Yes sire!"

"Oh thank you sire!" said the old man tearfully. "If there's one person who can get me out of this" he thought to himself "surely it's my daughter."

And with this happy thought the man allowed himself to be dragged off to a much more sunny cell.

**Author's Note: Once again thanks for all the reviews they keep me writing which is the most important thing. Virtual chocolate pudding to you all!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Frog Prince or the Peasant's Wise Daughter.**

Rosie did not get any more work done that day. Or any sleep that night. In fact she spent the next 12hours desperately nursing the frog back to health. She gave him all kinds of medicines and tried to feed him everything from human food to frog food. The frog remained unconscious through all this and her only comfort was the continued beating of his heart. On almost exactly the twelfth hour an idea struck that she was ashamed of not thinking of before: water. Sure she had tried to get him to drink but he was a frog-perhaps he needed to be in the water. Rosie dashed outside with all the strength she had left just as the sun began its slow journey over the horizon. It was dawn. In her digging she had gone so deep there was one area where there was actually a small body of water she had uncovered. With a splash the frog landed in it.

For a few long seconds the frog didn't move and Rosie was sure he would drown. Since the water was at the bottom of a muddy pit she wasn't sure how she would get back out if she went in. So she did what any of would have done: she panicked! However at that moment the frog regained consciousness.

Whether it was from the cold water, or just the frog's natural need to be in water no one knows but the point was he was alive.

The Prince felt a surge of energy rush through him and he swam in powerful strokes to the surface of the water finally emerging with a loud splash. When he reached the surface he was surprised by the sight of Rosie sitting by the side of the muddy pit, her face in her hands, crying her heart out.

"Maid what troubles you that you weep so sadly." **(Disclaimer: minus the maid that was a direct quote from Grimm Fairy Tales- don't sue me!) **The Prince asked gently.

Rosie looked up as if in a dream. When she saw the frog a huge smile spread across her face.

"You're alive! I haven't killed you! Oh thank goodness!" and she promptly did a little happy dance around the pit.

Prince Gilbert felt his cheeks redden.

"You were that worried about me?...erm…fear not my lady for I am here and all shall be well." The Prince had just remembered this was the sort of thing a Prince should be saying. Rosie giggled.

"You sounded just like a pri-." Rosie gasped at the frog. Gilbert thinking that she was pointing at him smiled to himself. But she was not pointing at him. She was pointing at the flash of gold she had seen in the muddy water beneath. The flash was what made her realize she had finally found-

"THE PESTLE!" she cried.

"What?" said the frog raising an eyebrow.

"The pestle!" she cried again, tears of relief filling her eyes. "I told you. Surely I told you?" The frog gave her a puzzled face. "Oh well maybe not." She said meekly. And here she went on to explain that she had been searching this whole for the pestle to match the golden mortar. When she came to describing Prince Gilbert her usually kind face was converted in to one of deep hatred. Suddenly the frog was very, very glad that she had not realized who he was. When she finished her story the Prince was in a shocked silence. She was the daughter of the man he had needlessly sent to jail. How bad could this have possibly gotten? "Well" he thought with his new found optimism. "at least things can't get any worse."

At that moment two things happened. Firstly there was a loud thunder clap and rain started to fall down in buckets and two, there was a loud trumpet call from the distance announcing the King was on his way. The frog moaned loudly.

"Frog please, I want to ask a favour." The rain was slowly soaking her hair and her clothing was sticking to her. With her hair wet all the frizzyness was worked out of it. Though the wet clothing only revealed someone with absolutely no curves and a simply straight body type; the prince thought she had never looked so lovely.

"What favour?" he asked doing his best to sound polite. Suddenly Rosie seemed so above him. And not just because she was towering him in height. Rosie was a strong willed woman who had nothing to hide or be ashamed of. She made him feel ashamed of almost everything he had ever done. He had never felt so unworthy. "I don't deserve to clean her shoes." He thought quietly to himself.

"I need you to dive into that water and get me that pestle! Please!" she called desperately.

The frog hesitated for a moment. He had never before swam in his life though he figured as a frog it should come naturally…it still made him nervous.

"Frog." Rosie sobbed in seeing his hesitation. "I will do anything for you if you do me this one favour! I will let you sit at my table, eat from my plate, drink from my cup, even sleep on my bed if you wish! You will have my friendship! But please frog! Please get me that pestle!"

"I will get you the pestle!" he called up to her. "But I deserve nothing else."

Rosie did not hear the second part because at that moment there was another trumpet call and the king himself appeared right in her yard.

"Your Majesty!" Rosie gasped and bowed deeply.

"You are the daughter of the old man who gave my son a mortar?"

"Yes your Highness."

"Well I and your father have an arrangement." Here the King paused for dramatic effect. "If you can find the Prince then not only will your father be released but we will also give you one thing of your choice from the palace."

"Find the Prince Your Majesty?"

"Yes he seems to have disappeared…but more of this later! Let us discuss this in the safety of my castle." And with that she was hurried off to the castle before she could get a word in edgewise.

The frog surfaced just in time to see her hurried off by his father's guards. With a great hop he jumped out of the pit, pestle in hand (well actually mouth) and began to slowly hop his way to the castle.

**Author's Note: Well that's chapter six and well I know I said only a few more chapters a few chapters ago, it turns out it will have to be a few more. Oh well! This time virtual pie for anyone who reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Frog Prince or the Peasant's Wise Daughter**

It is a well known fact that a Prince should never really physically exert himself. Firstly, the high class of the Kingdom of Phell would see it as highly improper because a Prince should never be exhausted or sweaty, and two physically exhausting work was a peasant's job. It was because of this that the frog Prince had never really done anything half as exhausting as hopping one jump at a time from Rosie's house to the Palace. He had not heard the King telling her that all she had to do was find him and her father would be released. He still believed that without the pestle he would be trapped in the dungeons forever. So the Prince did the first truly noble thing he had ever done in his life (and I'm happy to say it wasn't the last), he ventured in the pouring rain with a still empty stomach across busy roads one hop at a time. He was nearly trampled on many times but he kept pushing himself. He had really and truly gotten himself into this mess and for the first time he himself would put it all to rights.

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Rosie couldn't breath. No. She was not drowning, or being strangled. The cause for this was something responsible for many more deaths then either of the two listed above: she was wearing a corset.

The King had felt extremely bad about his son's actions and had very intention of releasing the girl's father no matter what the girl discovered. He also had every intention of giving her the reward he had promised. He simply thought with her father in a dungeon she might be a little more…motivated. Anyways he treated her as a guest of honour. He decided to give her the Prince's room to sleep in and she would dine with himself and the rest of the Royal family and advisors.

So there she was dressed up like royalty, which naturally meant a corset. And she couldn't breath. It was for this reason that though she was starving from her extremely exciting day she could not manage to swallow even one mouthful. Instead she did her best to make a good impression on everyone at the table and did a little research on the Prince himself.

"He was such a darling as a boy." The Queen said fondly. "Always being so helpful to the King." The Princess Jasmine snorted loudly.

"My dear," said the Queen quietly. "It is not polite to snort."

"It's also not polite to _lie_." Jasmine replied. Everyone gasped. "My brother was certainly not helpful. As a boy he always used to sneak outside and play in the woods. He also stole a horse and tried to go and see the world."

Neither of the above particularly surprised Rosie. He was a spoilt, terrible Prince and perhaps his disappearing was someone trying to save their kingdom.

The dinner went on for many hours, until the moon was high in the sky. For Rosie it was torture. She stared at the delicious food which she could not eat and the lack of food was making her very light headed. She was also very tired and her back was sore from sitting up so straight for the last three hours.

Ten minutes later Rosie felt her eyes closing. She tired to stop them, she really did but they just would not co operate. Her eyes closed. She felt herself drift off to dreamland when-

She heard a loud croak form outside. Rosie jerked wide awake. Another croak and this time followed by something that sounded like: _"I have brought your pestle." _Rosie jumped up and hurried to the door.

"Where are you going?" the King asked. He was not used to people standing up in his presence without his permission.

"I'm sorry your majesty! But…I have to let this frog in." The King stared at her as she pulled open the door and low and behold, in hopped a frog.

Princess Jasmine gave a loud shriek causing everyone male in the room to flinch and cover their ears. "WHAT'S THAT DISGUSTING, SLIMY THING DOING IN HERE!" she screamed.

"It's a frog your majesties." Rosie said guiltily as she picked the exhausted frog up. "I'm sorry but I promised to let him eat from my plate and drink form my drink-oh and sleep on my bed if he brought me…this." Rosie held up the pestle.

"THE PESTLE?" The King said incredulously. "I didn't know you could train frogs to carry things like pestles…especially golden ones."

"Well he's not a normal frog." Rosie said nervously as she sat back down in her seat and gestured to the frog to eat (which he willingly did). "You see…he talks." Everyone stared at her like she was completely insane. "IT'S TRUE!" She cried, too late realizing how all this sounded. "Frog." She said pleadingly. "please say something." The frog looked up at her pleading eyes and knew he could not refuse.

"What would you like me to say?" he said quietly. But they heard. If possible everyone gaped at him even more. That is, everyone but the King. The King's face went through a series of emotions before arriving back at a carefully neutral one.

"Well Mr. Frog." He said loudly. "If this girl promised to let you eat off her plate, drink her drink and sleep in her bed then that is exactly what you shall do."

"I asked for none of it your majesty." The frog said quietly. "If you will release this mai-woman's father that will be all the payment I need." The King stared at him for a moment, a smile playing on his lips. Finally he said. "And indeed I shall but I must insist you stay the night. In fact I demand it."

"As your majesty wishes."

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Once the frog had eaten his fill (which was quite a lot since he hadn't eaten in over a week) Rosie carried him upstairs and placed him gently on her pillow (which was actually, ironically his pillow).

"Mr. Frog, I really don't know how to thank you."

"There is no need." Said the frog in a quiet voice. "I was merely paying you back for all the things you did for me and I was too spoilt to notice."

"Like what? Starve you?" she sighed and sat down beside him. "I nearly killed you and you went out of your way by hopping all the way across town with a pestle in your mouth with no food just for me. And thanks to you my father will be freed. Yet you won't even accept my thanks."

"I deserved it."

"No you didn't!"

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not." Rosie burst out laughing. "I see you are just as stubborn as I am." The Prince couldn't help but smile. There was a silence for a moment, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Then: "Frog?"

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me a story?"

"…I will do my best."

"Thank you." Rosie lay down on the bed beside him and made herself comfortable. The Frog felt his heart skip a beat as she was suddenly so close to him but he refused to let it distract him.

"Once upon a time there was a small boy. He came from a strict family and so he was never allowed off the property of the family's house. This made him very sad because he loved the outdoors. This boy was a born explorer and there was nothing he liked better than to see someplace new. So one day he snuck off the property and into a nearby forest. He started to do this everyday for just an hour or so. It became the highlight of his day. Out in the forest he could just be himself. He would climb the trees and befriend all the woodland creatures. Then one day his father caught him sneaking out. He was furious. So he told the boy he could never go into the woods again. Of course the boy made several attempts to go anyways but the father had kept a careful watch on the boy since the discovery and caught the boy on every one of those attempts. The boy was then banned from even going outside his own house. He resented it greatly, in fact resented it his whole life. His father never removed the ban and so the boy never made any friends. He just stayed inside with his anger doing all kinds of work he didn't want to do. His heart became a horrible black hole and for many years it stayed that way. Sometimes he was forced to go outside on an errand but it was so painful for him to walk only on the roads and see only busy towns and not the forest or any other landscape he may have found enjoyable that he only did it when it was absolutely necessary. Who can say how long his heart would have stayed like that if it weren't for a witch. This witch kidnapped the now grown boy and forced him to go outside. It was here that he met a beautiful young lady. And this lady changed his heart. Suddenly he had things to think of besides how resentful he was to the world and he was cured." ….. "Ummmm…I guess that's the end?"

Rosie smiled at the frog. "That was pretty good story frog, but I think you should work on the ending."

"Well what should the ending be?"

"How about, the boy married the girl and they both lived happily ever after-oh! And how about they lived in a small cottage in the woods the boy loved so much?" The frog smiled.

"That would be perfect."

Now as everyone reading this story is probably well aware, Rosie was a very smart girl. I'm sure most of you have by this point realized that the boy in the story was the prince and you would think Rosie would have picked up on that too. All I can say in her defense is one: she was very tired when Jasmine told her that her brother used to sneak into the forest, two: she was very tired now, three: because she was so tired her eyes had been closed throughout the story so she hadn't seen the Prince's face as he was telling it, and finally: she liked the frog far too much to even think for a second that he could be the much hated Prince who had thrown her father in the dungeon and probably ruined their chance at planting anything before winter.

Rosie felt herself falling asleep again and this time she had no reason to stop herself, so she whispered;

"Thank you frog, that was the best story ever." And leaned forward and kissed him gently on his head.

After that everything happened so quickly. There was a bright yellow flash which caused Rosie to scream so loudly her father heard all the way down in the dungeons. She jumped out of bed and stared horrified for one minute at Prince Gilbert sitting on her-well his pillow. Then the King and a few guards burst in the door causing Rosie to scream again. This was all she could take (especially with her corset still on-she didn't know how to take it off and she was too embarrassed to try in front of the frog), and so she did what was considered the proper thing for a lady to do: she fainted.

**Author's Note: Wow! Only two chapters left! Sweet! I hope everyone enjoyed this one cause I think it just might be my favourite so far! Oh and of course HUGE thanks to all my reviewers who give me all the inspiration I need to write. THANK YOU!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the frog prince or the peasant's wise daughter**

"I KNEW IT!" the king yelled triumphantly as he surveyed his son. Behind him Rosie landed with a thud onto the ground. "I recognized your voice the second you talked!" Prince Gilbert, however, was not interested in what his father had to say. In fact at that moment the only thing that came to his head was Rosie. He rushed to her side on the ground.

"Rosie." He whispered gently. She did not stir. At this point everyone realized that she was unconscious and one of the guards came to her aid.

"Excuse me your majesty." said the guard politely moving the prince out of the way. The guard leaned over her and pressed his lips into hers. Rosie gasped and Gilbert sighed in relief.

It took her a minute to realize where she was and more importantly what she was doing there. When it did come back she rather wished it hadn't.

"Thank God!" said Gilbert in relief. Rosie backed away as he tried to help her up.

"Thank you VERY much your majesty but I am quite capable of standing up myself." She got to her feet and gave him a deep curtsey. "Well your majesty, if you would be so kind as to release my father I'll be on my way." The Prince flinched.

"Now my dear I must insist that you stay at least the night! It is very late and I would not feel safe knowing you were out on your own at this time of night." said the King generously.

"Thank you very much your majesty." said Rosie with actual sincerity. "but I have been wandering the streets at night for a very long time and nothing has ever come of it…and now I will have my father."

"You will absolutely stay the night!" said the King sternly. "I am King and I order it."

"Father please don't tell her what to do."

"I don't need you to defend me!" said Rosie furiously.

"I am still ordering you to stay at least the night."

Rosie sighed defeatedly.

"Yes your majesty."

"Excellent!" said the King cheerfully. "Hansel!" he said, addressing the guard who had given her the kiss of life.

"Yes your majesty?"

"Escort this young lady to her room."

"Wait!" said Gilbert loudly. "I will escort her." The King seemed to consider.

"Alright. I suggest every one else go back to sleep."

"Right this way." Said the Prince and Rosie angrily followed him out the door. After walking for a few minutes the Prince turned to her and quietly asked. "Why are you angry with me?" Rosie stared at him incredulously.

"I am not angry with you at all your majesty!" sarcasm dripped from every word.

"Please don't call me that."

"Oh? Do you prefer Frog?"

"Yes." The Prince said quietly. Rosie just glared at him. "Please just tell me why you are so mad?"

"I don't want to! You might put me in your dungeon for that!"

"Ah." They were silent for a second. Then he said quietly. "You know I've changed."

"Really."

"A lady changed my heart." Rosie stopped and stared at him for a full minute.

"The boy in the story…"

"Is me, yes."

"How do I know you are telling the truth? How do I know you are really different?"

"I don't think I can prove-…I just need you to trust me." Rosie laughed.

"Trust you? You were never anything but a spoilt Prince who has nothing to think about but himself." But Rosie didn't mean that. However somehow it felt good to let it out on him. She had trusted him! She had even l-…well…she hadn't wanted him to _die_ and now she felt betrayed. He was the prince. The feared, dreaded, and much hated prince and Rosie just could not stand that.

"You couldn't even say sorry to me after accusing me of being a witch! And-and- you're a terrible Prince! All your people are starving! And you don't even care! You throw people in jail for the most ridiculous things and you have the nerve to then think that you lead a hard life!" Rosie stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Gilbert just stared at her, a great sadness growing in his heart that he was afraid would never leave him alone again.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry I implied you were a witch. I didn't really mean it…and I am thankful that you took me out of the swamp and took me in…" Rosie glared at him. He was making it very difficult for her to hate him.

"YOU WOULDN'T EVEN GET THE PESTLE FOR ME WITHOUT ME HAVING TO BEG YOU FOR IT!" but she couldn't stay mad much longer. She was being unreasonable and she knew it. She felt tears burning in the corners of her eyes. "…and I hate you…so much…" and then she completely broke down into sobs.

The prince stared at her a torn look on his face. He wanted to comfort her so badly but…well; she had just said she hated him which meant that he probably wouldn't be exactly welcome….

"I love you." _OH GOD WHERE DID THAT COME FROM! _The prince thought confusedly._ I didn't know that…not that I deny it…but I definitely did not mean to say that out-loud…_

Rosie stared at him, a torn look on her face. She looked awful, absolutely awful at that moment and she was well aware of it. Her face was still looking pale from all the lack of breathing caused by the corset, her eyes were red and puffy and her face was glistening with tears. She was not a pretty picture…so why did the prince always seem to look at her as if she was the most gorgeous woman on the planet?

"Why…why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"You-you say things like that and you look at me like that-and-and then you do your big romantic gestures…you make it so hard for me to hate you…"

The prince felt a glimmer of hope awaken in him.

He had no idea what made him do it. But there he was down on one knee before he knew what was happening.

"Rosie, would you do me the honour of being my wife?" he voice trembled slightly but he held his ground.

Rosie stared at him for a moment. She had stopped crying. Finally she looked at him in the eyes:

"You realize of course, I am just a peasant?"

"Rosie, to me you are a princess…and I know you can make me a better prince- well I mean you already have…and I love you-and that's all that really matters…right?" he stared at her pleadingly. He looked at the floor. She was going to say no. He just knew it.

Slowly a small smile spread across Rosie's face. In a whisper so quiet she was sure he couldn't hear her she whispered:

"Yes." Gilbert stared at her.

"What did you say?"

"I SAID YES! You…terrible, arrogant, stupid-"But she wasn't serious. She was laughing. So Gilbert didn't let her finish. And Rosie couldn't help but give in to his embrace.

"I love you." She whispered when they were forced to stop for air. Gilbert wanted to tell her that he loved her back. He wanted to tell her again and again until he could no longer talk but he couldn't. He was just too happy to say a single word. And so instead he just grinned down at her like an idiot and let his eyes do the talking. Then she started to laugh and once she started she couldn't stop. Gilbert grabbed her waist and spun her around and around in circles. When he stopped Rosie was still grinning at him.

"I have an idea."

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The King awoke with a smile on his face. No one thought he was an idiot anymore. His people's faith in him had been restored. His son had been found-and no one could blame him for not suspecting he was turned into a frog. Unfortunately the smile would not last long. A guard burst loudly into his room and blurted out:

"The Prince is gone!" The King gaped at him.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"No sire. And the peasant's daughter is gone too."

The King collapsed. This was not saying much since he was already lying in bed.

"Oh and she left you this sire!"

"What is it?"

"A…a note?"

"Yes I know it's a note! What's in it?"

"It was addressed to you! I didn't read it." The King sighed exasperatedly.

"Well- then- read it NOW!"

"Dear Majesty:

I am awfully sorry to do this but I must leave right now. Something has come up and it's quite important. I have taken the liberty of releasing my father myself so there is no need to worry about him anymore. Have also selected the thing that I like the most in this castle and taken it with me. I do however realize that I have somewhat taken advantage of you so I suggest a compromise: He will spend the day at the castle, working, learning about how to be a King, and then he will spend the rest of his time with me. When you decide to retire we will move back into the palace and he will take over his duties. Also we would like to warn you that we are to be married. I know we should usually ask your permission but, well technically he is now my property so I hardly see the point. Thank you for your hospitality and your prince.

Sincerely:

The Peasant's Wise Daughter

P.S.: We need you to send us the family ring.

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"And that," said the witch cheerfully. "is how my spell changed the Prince from an idiot to the best Prince the Kingdom has ever had… and the most happy Prince, might I add."

Death glared at the witch. She was confident. Far too confident.

"Wwweeelllll…I suppose I'll let you off on this offense. You do of course realize that there are many other offenses I have against you and if you can't justify them then that man is mine."

"Yes of course! Which one should I tell you about next?"

"Are you blind woman? It's practically dawn! I still have eight more people to…ah…see. If I don't get to all of them I could be fired!"

Death jumped to his feet and sprinted for the door.

"But wait! What about-"

"He will remain in that state until I return-tomorrow night!"

The witch watched him from the doorway. His cloak slowly blending into the night until he became it. The wolf howled again as if in warning. The witch shivered slightly and closed the door.

"Until tomorrow…"

**Author's Note: Wow! I can't believe it! It's done! Well part one is at least. THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! VIRTUAL CAKE TO YOU ALL! AND CHAMPAGNE! I will start part 2 soon. Promise. Till then-**

**Greenmaiden.**


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